The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Remnant
by Thiriston
Summary: Follow the story of Siegfried, once a happy young boy living in the settlements beyond the kingdoms his world is turned upside down when he finds his village destroyed and his family slaughtered by the White Fang. Discovering a lost and ancient power he strives to avenge the lives of those he lost, look out Remnant a new Gravewalker enters the fray
1. Chapter 1

The Shadow of Remnant

 _(Shadow of Mordor and RWBY Crossover)_

Follow the story of Siegfried, student of Beacon gifted in the Art of swordsmanship and stealth gifted with otherworldly powers, more specifically the powers of the Wraith.

When Siegfried was a child he loved to wander the outside world, living in settlements beyond the walls gave him this opportunity to do so his parents were kind and loving and his father (being a retired Hunter) wanted to send his son into one of the many Hunter Academies throughout Remnant, Siegfried had no issue with learning to become a hunter with the goal of protecting his settlement from the Grimm that would seek to kill them.

When he was only 5 years old young Siegfried discovered a set of old ruins crafted completely out of marble, he made the place his own personal playground for many years and played with his friends until the age of 15, on this day his life changed forever the other settlers believed it was no longer safe to stay near the ruins due to increasing Grimm attacks.

"Mother!" young Siegfried called

"Yes dear?" his mother called back

"Can I go visit the ruins?" He begged "Just one last time, Please?"

"Oh I don't know" she smirked "I think you should ask your father as well"

"Alright, thanks Mom" Before leaning in and giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and brief hug before rushing out the door.

"Father?!" He shouted

"Yes my son?" His father replied

"Can I go to the ruins?"

His father put his hands on his hips before furrowing his brow in thought, after what felt like five minutes of silence he gave his answer.

"Alright, but be back before midday" He said gruffly "Stay safe okay?"

His son was already halfway towards the trees as soon as he said 'Alright'

Chuckling to himself the retired hunter moved towards the other settlers to help prepare to leave.

Siegfried sprinted as fast as he could through the thick trees towards the ruins, jogging up the stone staircase and before heading on inside to wander for the next few hours.

His favourite section of the ruins was the throne room, a wide hall that opened up to the throne room itself, he would remember pretending to be a king or servant to his friends when they were children a wave of nostalgia washing over him like a warm blanket on a cold winter's night.

Before an earthshattering boom blasted through the peacefulness of the wilderness. Rushing from the ruins he made his way towards camp, when he reached the home however he found out he was too late.

The cabins were smouldering ruins the watchtowers were laid low splotches of red stained the soil and grass, husks of what once were the neighbours and friends of his family laid on the grass their lifeless eyes gazing up to the heavens, others were burnt beyond recognition their charred bodies scattered among the debris giving off a putrid smell. His friends laid in a heap their blood stained the grass beneath them.

Armed men and women scoured the camp firing off their guns every so often before all could be heard was the crackling of burning wood but the one feature he will always remember the masks they wore, they were the White Fang. Fleeing the scene blinded by his own tears he stumbled and fell several times as he ran away from his former home making a beeline to the ruins. There he spent hours upon hours wallowing in his sorrow and grief until he could cry no more, and his world faded to black

" _Child"_

The boy perked up suddenly after what felt like hours upon hours of sadness and grief, his eyes puffed up and swollen from the tears, he looked up a bright blue light floated a few feet away from him.

" _You have suffered much….too much for any child to bear" the ethereal voice whispered_

"W-W-Who are you?" he asked weakly

" _I….do not remember" the voice replied "but I know who you are Siegfried, I have watched you throughout your time here as a child"_

"How? I have never seen you anywhere, I've explored every single place in these ruins"

" _Ah but that is where you are wrong child, I appear to you in this realm of existence but I have watched you from a different one" it answered_

"Why appear to me now? WHY NOW OF ALL TIMES?!" he roared

" _I understand your grief child, vengeance is what you desire yes?" It asked "it is a common reaction for mortals"_

Siegfried nodded slowly as he glared at the orb of light

" _Then allow me into impart with you the means to do so these ruins were once your playground, starting today they will be your training ground, Come follow me"_

Following the orb through the halls they came to the throne room before the orb came to rest at the throne itself.

" _Sit"_

Siegfried complied, the orb floated closer before tendrils of light extended from it, before placing them on his temples.

" _Relax child, this will only take a moment"_

The boy could only gulp in reply, his eyes widened as memories rushed into his mind.

 _A hooded figure stood alone in a grassy plane an ornate longsword strapped to his back, next to it was a single edged dagger, standing around him were hordes of the ugliest beings Siegfried had ever seen, and they wore crude armour and were armed with various weapons._

 _Most carried a one handed axe or sword smaller and sticklike ones stood behind armed with throwing spears and crossbows, meatier ones held tall shields with wicked spears as well as dual wielding axes or swords._

 _The hooded figure drew his sword before entering a battle stance, the boy noticed glowing letters of an unknown language etched into the hilt and the flat of the blade the same went for the small dagger as well._

 _One of the creatures grew impatient and charged at him, sensing this the hooded man struck first before the creature could even lift his sword the blade leaving a faint blue trail with each swing before finishing it by parrying a clumsy attempt at a chop before weaving behind the creature and stabbing it in the head, the blade piercing through its skull sending out a spurt of black blood._

 _Another attempted to attack from behind using an overhead swing, taking a few steps back the man kicked the creature in the belly sending him sprawling into his comrades, pirouetting away before slashing a random bystander across the chest, however this one was different the creature wore thicker armor, his helmet was designed with a human skull designed mouthguard._

" _MAN FILTH" it roared_

 _The Human turned around just in time before blocking an overhead smash both of them refusing to yield they drew in closer._

" _Filthy shrakh I'm gonna gut you and feed you to me boys, they sound mighty hungry eheheheeee"_

 _Siegfried watched in awe as the one man dispatched the hordes of creatures that came his way, as the fight kept progressing the man's sword glowed bright blue and soon the weaker grunts were falling by the dozen with a single swing, leaving only the unique one behind._

" _Enough!" It crowed "I'll live to fight another day…and then….I'll KILL YOU!" he began to run away blood pouring from his sword arm and leg, turning his attempt at running more into painful limping_

 _Taking a step back the man sprinted after him, but it seemed this one was very fast despite his size, in a blue flash a bow appeared in his hands, drawing it back before letting loose an ethereal arrow. And within a blink of an eye the creature fell to the ground the arrow piercing through the back of its knee_

"Whoa" was all that came out of the boy's mouth, before he watched the man walk over to the creature as it howled in pain.

Grabbing the creature by the face he lifted him so that they were both level with each other, however the monster could only moan in pain as it was too weak to retaliate.

" _Nani_ Ichîr _Gelar Mordor" the man spoke his voice layered with another's before the ghostly image of a rotting figure in armor replaced the man_

 _The boy watched astounded as the man withdrew his hand away from the monster a bright glowing handprint marked the creature its eyes glowed the same as his new master._

 _"W-What did he do?" he asked_

 _"He branded the Orc" the orb replied "Dominating its will and bringing it into his fold"_

 _"_ _Will I be able to do that?"_

 _And with a bright flash of light the orb dissipated its sparks floating onto the boy before dissolving into his body, suddenly he felt stronger, faster and smarter._

 _"I have imparted with you how to fight as the man did, but you must still put those moves into practice" the voice spoke again but this time it was in his head_

 _"Why are you helping me?" the boy asked_

 _"They say to never look a gift-horse in the mouth, yes?" the voice countered "Now the question is, are you willing to train under my guidance and endure the many hardships placed before you, so that one day you may avenge your family?"_

 _"When do we start?" the boy asked eagerly as his eyes glowed intensely_

 _And thus begins the two long hard years' worth of training, slaying Grimm and sabotaging White Fang movements throughout Remnant (all from the age of 15-17 mind you) under the care of the Bright One. Young Siegfried has abandoned his childhood innocence for the sake of justice and in time, Vengeance._

 _2 years later_

 _The Ruins had also outlived its usefulness and so the Bright One and Siegfried had searched for a closer location to civilisation but also one where he can spy on his bitter adversaries, the White Fang._

 _From the various amounts of stockpiles Siegfried had stolen from the White Fang he was able to acquire enough money from the stolen goods for rent in a decent apartment block._

 _Throughout those two years Siegfried was imparted with various important pieces of information regarding the origin of his powers, he was taught about the land of Middle Earth, its cultures its people and its history all the way from the 1_ _st_ _era to the 4_ _th_ _era all from the same method the Bright one used to show young Siegfried the Gravewalker and his potential_

 _Siegfried now 17 years old is eligible to join Beacon Academy to attend was his father's dream and so he finds himself honour bound to enter in order fulfil his father's dream, the one problem he has however is signing up due to no access to formal education and no form of graduation from any prerequisite schools, His father's goals seemed so far more distant than they did before._

"How am I going to be able to join?" Siegfried muttered to himself pacing around the throne room before stopping by at a table on it were a list of items that were needed to be purchased from a certain Dust store in Beacon.

"Damn forgot I needed to resupply on dust" he muttered to himself walking over to his dresser he suited up in his regular armour (A wise man once said: Before all else be armed) before making his way down the street to the store _From Dust Til' Dawn_

Picking out his usual selection of dust ammunition (10 of each element) before bringing them to the counter.

"Just the usual" he said nonchalantly

The old man simply nodded in reply before scanning the boxes

What was once a simple supply run was interrupted when a rather well dressed man walked into the store, several thugs followed him in as well.

Once the items were purchased he moved to the side sorting the boxes of ammunition on the counter, seemingly indifferent from the armed intruders, sneaking through the aisles he activated his Wraith Vision. The man and his thugs were obviously hostile judging by their red auras within his vision, but the leader's was more vibrant indicating he was tougher than the rest of the hostile figures.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust Shop open this late?" their leader asked

"Please, just take my Lien and leave!" the shopkeeper begged

"Shhh Shhh Shhh calm down we're not here got your money" the man cooed before his mood took a complete 180 "Grab the Dust"

As the men got to work extracting the dust from the store, Siegfried made his way to one of the other goons probably armed in order to control any civilians who got in the way. Sneaking up from behind he pulled him into a sleeper hold before branding him.

"Hey kid! Put your hands up where I can see 'em" one of the goons shouted but red hooded girl ignored him

"Hey I said put your hands in the mph-"the goons' cries were silenced as Siegfried branded him as well, bending down to pick up the thugs' glasses he returned them to their owner before the thug walked away as if nothing happened.

Making his way towards the girl he tapped her on the shoulder lightly, he could hear the rock music she was listening to through her headphones.

"Oh I'm sorry!" she apologised as she took off her headphones "Is my music too loud?"

He shook his head before turning his head towards the thief and his goons who have nearly finished extracting the dust.

"A-are we being robbed?" She asked

Siegfried shrugged in response as if saying "possibly"

However one of the other goons making rounds noticed their interaction.

"Hey YOU!" he shouted "hands up!"

The girl rushed forward before kicking him into a wall alerting all the others in the area.

"Dammit" Siegfried grumbled "there goes my subtlety"

"Freeze!" a goon shouted the girl responded by jumping out the window?

Causing the other goons and their leader to look through the window in confusion, only to see the girl take out a large rectangular box before it folded out into a scythe, Siegfried drew his sword twirling it in his hand before taking a battle stance letting his eyes glow briefly to taunt them.

Two of the goons charged towards him one went for a cleave whilst the other went for a thrust preparing himself he parried the cleave before a faint ethereal clone appeared as Siegfried pirouetted away from the thrust intercepting the stab with its own sword.

" _Well thought out" The Bright one commented_

"Why thank you mentor" Siegfried replied before kicking a goon away

Whilst he was fighting however, the leader of the group of thieves had escaped to the rooftops of a nearby building with the girl in hot pursuit, Siegfried called upon his Wraith powers forcing his two branded goons to fight against the others as he too followed them up to the rooftops.

"Hey!" the girl shouted attempting to get his attention

"Persistent….." He muttered under his breath

A large Bullhead pulled up from the building, the thief climbing aboard he shouted back to the two of us

"End of the line red!" he pulled out a large red dust crystal before winding his arm up ready to throw

Before he could release however I had already transformed Gleaming Brilliance into a bow before pulling the string, an arrow of pure wind appeared in my hands. Time slowed down as the thief's hand shot forward indicating he had just thrown.

Slowly taking in a deep breath I pulled the string back a little more after a brief moment of silence

1….

2…..

3….

Time seemed to speed up again before a massive explosion blasted against the machine, the arrow had struck true detonating the red dust crystal before it even reached them, but was not enough to bring it down, activating his Wraith vision he saw a second figure within the Bullhead and her aura...

There were no words to describe the intensity of this woman's aura it was the deepest red, the colour of blood it shimmered here and there but the darkness within it was too painful to look at.

" _By the Rings" The Bright one murmured "This power….."_

"I've never seen anything like it, and it scares me" Siegfried murmured

" _Retreat Siegfried, we are not prepared to face this one just yet" The bright one called within my head_

"As you wish" he replied

Their mental conversation however was interrupted when a woman was standing in front of them, her hair was the colour of straw and her eyes were green and were covered by a pair of spectacles, she wore a white blouse matched with a black corset and a small cape draping behind her.

In her hand however was…a riding crop?

With swift decisive movements she began to launch shards of dust infused debris at the Bullhead, the female figure however had appeared at the side of the Bullhead her arms and dress were glowing bright orange sending out blasts of fire at the debris.

"Well I've seen it all" Siegfried muttered "grown women casting spells with a the bread and butter tools of a dominatrix"

Through all the smoke for and explosions the Bullhead had escaped disappearing into the night sky

-Siegfried POV-

The next thing I know I'm in thrown in an interrogation room with the crazy scythe girl right next to me, the poor lass is shaking uncontrollably and mumbling about how screwed she was. I couldn't really care less about what would happen to me, I mean I've already walked through the fiery jaws of hell living beyond civilisation for my whole life, and the pain of failing to say goodbye to his family and friends nor the chance to give them a proper burial.

My thoughts were disturbed however when the door opened the woman from earlier was the first to walk in following him was a man. His hair was grey and his eyes were filled with hidden intelligence he wore an outfit of varying shades of green and wore a pair of polarised spectacles, however the big question is: Who is this man? And why is he carrying a plate of cookies?

"Ruby Rose" he said as he strode into the room then leaned closer as if inspecting a dissected animal

"You have….silver eyes" he murmured

"U-umm" was all she could say

"So" the man interrupted "Where did you learn to do this?" turning his attention to a flat metal screen showing the girl a replay of all the events that occurred before hand.

"S-Signal Academy?" she replied

"They taught you to wield one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" he questioned

"W-well one teacher in particular" was her response

"I see…" the man said before placing the plate of baked goods before her, and in a matter of moments the girl gobbled all of the cookies up.

"And you" he said turning his attention to me "Where did you learn to do this?" the woman beside him swiped at the screen to show a short playback of me branding the thief's goons as well as taking out the rest out in the street,

"A friend" was my answer not willing to entrust this mysterious figure with any information regarding the Bright one or my Wraith Powers

"Hmmm" he hummed

"Where are you from?" he asked

"Away from the kingdoms that's for sure" I replied

"Oh you are a settler?" He asked

"My father was a retired hunter, my mother was a doctor" I replied heavily any talk regarding what happened two years ago was painful

"I apologise I did not know" He said "Why don't we start again, I'm Professor Ozpin"

"Siegfried"

"Well Siegfried, how old are you?"

"17 years old why?"

"Other than my name do you know who I am?"

In all honesty I have no precursor knowledge about this man, judging by his posture and looks he was of high stature in some faculty but alas no metaphorical bells were rung.

"Of course" Ruby Rose butted in "You're the Headmaster of Beacon Academy"

Thranduil's eyebrows now I feel stupid

Professor Ozpin smirked at my shocked expression, well now I know who this man is.

After a brief moment of silence the professor spoke again

"Would you like to join my academy?" he asked the both of us

"More than anything" Ruby practically shouted

"Sign me up Professor"

Professor Ozpin smiled


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow of Remnant Chapter 2

 _After a painful amount of paperwork done by Professor Ozpin Siegfried and Ruby Rose were accepted into Beacon Academy, currently situated on a Bullhead with its destination set to the academy itself. A certain blonde brawler however had heard the news and was more than enthused to hear her sister coming with her to Beacon. Siegfried however was nowhere to be seen_

"Oh I can't believe my baby sister is coming with me to Beacon!" A Blond haired buxom girl shouted before embracing Ruby Rose in a bone crushing hug "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER"

"Please…..Stop" Her sister choked "can't breathe"

"Oh but I'm so proud of you!" the blonde squealed

"Really sis, it was nothing" Ruby grumbled

"What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone's gonna think you're the bees' knees" she cheered

Their sibling reunion was cut short when a holographic screen appeared with a news report regarding last nights' robbery attempt, Roman Torchwick the identified leader of the robbery was shown on screen. Then switching to a Faunus rights protest report but was promptly interrupted when an image of Professor Ozpin's assistant appeared.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon" she said

"Who's she?" the brawler asked

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch"

"Oh"

After a short congratulations on being selected to join the academy as well as giving an overview of the academies' goals her image disappeared giving the students a chance to see the scenery through the various windows.

Unfortunately the view was not for everyone as a blonde boy stumbled pass the sisters obviously trying to hold in his lunch.

"Oh GROSS Yang you have puke on your shoe!" Ruby screamed

"grossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgross" the now identified blonde brawler rambled

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the younger hollered

Siegfried watched from afar as the two siblings ran down the hall, chuckling to himself he stood to stretch his legs a little, the Bullhead ride was certainly a long one and he eagerly awaited standing on solid ground.

As soon as the Bullhead touched down he made his way out on his own, the other students passed by, unfortunately Siegfried stood out like a sore thumb his rugged attire from spending his life beyond the safety of the walls meant wearing less than aesthetically pleasing clothes trading them for durability earning curious looks from the other students.

As he made his way towards the great majesty of the academy he heard the girlish squeals of the same scythe wielding girl from last night as she admired every weapon the other students carried.

"Oooh ooooh ooh he's got a dust sword!" Ruby squealed "Wait…..he looks familiar"

'Dammit she found me' Siegfried cried out

"HEY SIEGFRIED!" the ecstatic 15 year old called "IT'S ME RUBY, REMEMBER ME?!"

" _There's no point hiding now" The Bright one said "Go on say hi to them you should try and make some friends, this is a school if I'm not mistaken"_

"You sound like my mother" the Wraith replied mentally

Grumbling to himself he walked over to the two

"Hello Ruby" he greeted begrudgingly

"Who's this Ruby?" Yang asked "Is he your boyfriend? What other things have you not been telling me?"

"Yang it's not like that!" Ruby protested "I met him last night at the Dust shop when that Torchwick guy appeared"

"Are you sure?" Yang teased

"YANG!" she fumed

"I think you should stop, she might die out of embarrassment" Siegfried butted in

"Yeah I guess I should" Yang sighed

"Thank you!" Ruby called

"Ruby, why don't you try making friends?" Yang asked "from what I've heard we're all gonna be put into teams"

"Why would I need friends when I have you sis?" she countered however Yang was halfway towards the academy being dragged away by some other students.

"Aww" Ruby whined "Where do I go? Should I go to the dorms? Do we have dorms?"

"Calm yourself Ruby" Siegfried chided "you'll be fine, besides you have me that's +1 friend"

"I guess your right" she mumbled apologetically

Ruffling her hair playfully he chuckled at her cute expression as she tried to fix her hair back in place, as she was doing so a hotel style luggage holder slammed into her back making her fall onto the ground scattering the suitcases everywhere.

"What are you doing?!" a voice screeched as Ruby clawed her way out of the pile of luggage on top of her

"Sorry" Ruby said

"Sorry? Is that all you have to say?!" a white haired girl shouted "do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?" while shaking one of the phials of dust in her hand letting out a small cloud of red particles into the air and they just so happened to float right into Ruby's face.

Ruby's instantly sneezed, activating the dust before engulfing the entire area in a small explosion

"Ugh this is exactly what I was talking about!" the crabby girl fumed

"Hey umm excuse me?" Siegfried tried to interrupt, but fell on deaf ears as

"Let's get one thing straight lass" Siegfried reasoned "you weren't keeping your eye on your own stuff, you let the carriage go AWOL and crash into Ruby here and on top of that those phials of dust weren't properly sealed, you are to be blamed for this not Ruby"

"Excuse me? Do you have any idea who I am" she questioned aggressively

"No I don't know who you are, and frankly I don't give a damn" Siegfried retorted

"That's Weiss Schnee heiress to the Schnee Dust Company" A voice answered "One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world"

A tall girl walked into view she had long black hair with a small bow sitting on top, her eyes were yellow it reminded the Gravewalker of a common house cat, but seeing no indication of being a Faunus he ignored it, strapped to her back was long black sword.

"Finally, some recognition" she smiled

"The same company that's notorious for its controversial labour force, and questionable business partners"

Weiss spluttered in surprise before attempting to try and talk lash out at the newcomer but to no avail, the tall girl retained a stony demeanour. Realising the futility of her attempts the heiress stomped away whilst a poor old butler walked by in the background to sort out the fallen cases.

Ruby however still tried to act apologetic to the pompous heiress, shouting out that she'll make it up to her.

"Don't bother trying to apologise to her" The Gravewalker remarked "people like them are as stubborn and arrogant as they come"

"I guess…" Ruby mumbled

Ruby quickly turned around to try and greet the newcomer but was too late, she was already walking away.

"Welcome to Beacon" the scythe wielder murmured dejectedly before falling backwards yet again lying on the ground before a hand offered itself to her to help her up

"Hi, I'm Jaune" the hand's owner greeted, accepting it she pulled herself up

"Are you the guy who threw up on the Bullhead?" Ruby asked

" _Never thought the girl would bite the hand that feeds her" the Bright one commented_

"Hey! Motion sickness is a more common problem than what is let on" he retorted "How would you like it if I called you Crater Face?"

"That explosion was an accident!" Ruby protested

"Well the name's Jaune Arc its short, sweet, rolls of the tongue ladies love it" he boasted

"But do they?" both Ruby and Siegfried thought

"I think everyone has moved to the Auditorium, should we move there as well?" Siegfried burst in to break the awkwardness of the conversation

"Sounds like a plan" Ruby replied

(Line Break)

The Auditorium was surprisingly larger than it looked from the outside enough so it could host all the new students, all of them stood crowded before a stage with a lone microphone just sitting there, with nothing to do most began to start up conversation amongst themselves.

"By the way what's your weapon Siegfried?" the scythe wielder asked eagerly" all I you carry was a sword on your back"

"Why do you ask?" Siegfried responded curiously "it's just a sword"

"But they're more than just weapons, they are extensions of ourselves!" Ruby retorted dramatically

Unbeknownst to them they had abandoned poor Jaune within the crowds of people

"Alright fine" the Gravewalker conceded "This is Bright Vengeance" drawing his sword it's design ornate and could only be described as beautiful, such was the nature of elven designed weaponry along the flat of the blade were words, written in the language of elves they spell.

' _Forged in the fires of grief and loss, strike out against all those who stand against you on your road of revenge"_

"She's beautiful…." Ruby breathed her hands unconsciously edging towards the handle

"Do you want to hold it?" he asked

"Yesssssss" she was practically drooling at this point and her eyes were dulled as if she was in a trance.

" _I doubt calling her a weapon specialist is befitting of her nature" The Bright one giggled "Perhaps fanatic would suit her better"_

Sating the girls' hunger for seeing new weapons, Siegfried reluctantly relinquished is grip on the sword letting the 'fanatic' fiddle around with it.

"Oooh I've never touched steel like this before, it's so smooth" she purred touching the sword in all sorts of ways that one could consider perverted or paedophilic in nature. She soon discovered the dust chamber fiddling around with it before moving on to the writing smoothing over the masterfully carved letters with the palm of her hand, a slight humming came from the blade.

"It's alive!" Ruby cackled madly before exploring the hidden kinks within Bright Vengeance

"Well that was…." Siegfried thought

" _Disturbing, no?" the Bright one finished off before giggling again_

"Stole the words right from my mouth" the Grave Walker mentally replied

" _I am inside your head after all" it countered_

"Ah true"

"Did you make it?" Ruby asked her eyes sparkling "No weapon smith in Remnant could make anything like this"

"Aye I did, with a little bit of health of course" Siegfried answered, albeit true he would have never made Bright Vengeance if his mentor never imparted the ways of Middle Earth smithing to him, then with the help of a friendly weapons maker modified it to be able to utilise dust rounds.

"Can you teach me?" moving so close their noses were practically touching "I'vehadsomanyideas onhowtomakeCrescentrosebetterandthisstylewouldlooksuperawesomebecauseatthemomentitlooksalittleclunkyanywayjustpleaseteachme!"

At this point Siegfried's eyes were the size of dinner plates as he listened to Ruby motorboat what she was saying until the point it was just mindless annoying ramble.

"To any god, whether dark or light eldritch or pure" Siegfried prayed in his mind "PLEASE SAVE ME!"

 _The Bright one could only laugh melodiously at her student's situation_

"Oh there you are Ruby!" Yang called

"Thank you!" Siegfried mentally cheered but nearly voiced his words openly making him cough into his hand, earning looks from the two siblings

"There you are Yang!" Ruby called back her greeting however was slightly tinged with anger

"How was your first day so far little sis?" Yang asked

"It was great until you ditched me and I exploded" Ruby replied coldly

"Yikes meltdown already?"

"Nope she literally exploded" the Gravewalker interrupted

"Wait what?" Yang spluttered

"And there was also this crabby girl who shouted at me when I ran into her luggage, it let out all this dust into the air and then I sneezed and we exploded she got really mad and started shouting at me and I really wanted it to stop" the younger sister ranted

Weiss Schnee just so happened to be behind them for the whole duration of Ruby's rant

"YOU!"

" _Speak of the Devil and she shall appear" The Bright one said_

Ruby jumped into her sister's arms before wailing 'Oh god it's happening again!'

"You're lucky that we weren't blown of the side of a cliff"

"Oh my god you actually exploded" the blonder brawler voiced

"It was an accident IT WAS AN ACCIDENT" Ruby continued

"Told you" Siegfried reminded with a smug grin on his face

Yang stuck her tongue at him playfully before talking again

"Maybe you two started out on the wrong foot, why don't you start again?" Yang suggested

"Yeah that's a great idea sis!" the younger agreed before holding out her hand as if expecting a shake "Hello Weiss I'm Ruby wanna go hang out maybe we could…"

"Yeah we can go pain our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys like tall blonde and scraggly over there" the heiress replied her voice practically laced with sarcasm as she pointed at poor Jaune.

"Wow really?" Ruby beamed

Siegfried had the immediate urge to slam his face into a wall

" _Calm yourself Siegfried" The Bright one chided "she is still young, and not well versed in the ways of detecting sarcasm"_

"Fair enough" he conceded

The lights dimmed instantly garnering the attention of the ecstatic weapon fanatic and everyone else within the Auditorium.

Ozpin walked up to the microphone tapping the mic testing if it was on before he began to speak

"I'll keep this brief…" He started "You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills and when you're finished you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people"

"However all I see at the moment is wasted energy, in need of purpose and direction many of you would assume knowledge will free you of this" Ozpin continued "but your time at this school will teach you that knowledge will only get you so far, it is up to you to take the first step"

And with that he made his way offstage before Glynda Goodwitch took to the stage

"You will all gather at the Ballroom tonight, in the morning you will begin your initiations, be ready" she said before also leaving the stage

Siegfried however had other thoughts on just protecting the people, he planned to join this academy to teach him how to defend himself against other hunters and quite possibly the White Fang itself. To hone his skills so that he can have the edge required to cut a path through the bloody road of vengeance.

(Line Break- That Night)

 _The sun had set on Vale, and the moon had taken its place the Ballroom was filled with sleeping bags for everybody and by then everyone had changed into their sleepwear (except Siegfried)_

" _How are you still wearing that?" Ruby asked "wouldn't It be all dirty and smelly?"_

"Unlike you Ruby, the luxury of spare clothes is not something accessible to me" _he replied as he took of his jerkin and undershirt before folding them neatly and setting them beside his sleeping bag._

"Oh sorry I forgot" Ruby apologised

"It's all in the past now" he waved off before tucking himself in for the night, and was just about to fall asleep….

"Hey Siegfried" Ruby asked

Groaning to himself he lay on his side to face her

"Yes?" he grumbled

"What were you saying earlier?" Ruby asked innocently "before Yang arrived at the Auditorium

"NOTHING" he answered instantly remembering he nearly shouted 'thank you' at Yang for saving him from oral torture at the hands of Ruby.

"Oh? Ok then" she said before taking out a small diary and began to write

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang shouted as she fell onto her own sleeping bag

"Not sure if dad will be okay with all the boys though" the younger sister chirped

"Oh I know I do" she purred as she watched all the boys in the ballroom attempt to gain attention by showing off as much skin as they could as well as flexing their arms

However she lost complete interest when Jaune walked into her field of view sporting a baby blue onesie with built in bunny slippers.

"So watcha doin' sis? Yang turned to her half sister

"Why do you call her sister Yang?" Siegfried asked out of the blue "You two hardly even look alike"

"We're half-sisters" she replied

"Ah I see"

"So as I was saying, what are you doing?" she asked again

"I'm writing a letter to all my friends back at Signal" Ruby answered

"Awww that's sooo cute!" Yang teased and received a pillow to the face for her transgressions

"Shut up!" Ruby barked "I didn't get to take my friends to school, it's weird not knowing anyone here"

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" the Gravewalker asked

"See! That's +1 friend" Yang cheered "that's a 100% increase, Oh and there's Jaune too so that's two people you know"

"Yeah but I met Siegfried when the Dust shop was attacked by Torchwick, we are friends of circumstance" Ruby retorted

" _Ouch that must've hurt" The Bright one commented_

Siegfried decided to play along by crying out in mock pain

"Oooh Ruby that was mean "Siegfried winced, sounding winded as he pointed to his heart "Hit me hard right there" rubbing the spot as if he was punched

Yang broke down into a fit of giggles, whilst Ruby cried out in despair

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Ruby pleaded "I didn't mean to insult you"

"Augh I'm joking Rubes" he joked receiving a surprisingly painful punch to the shoulder for it

"I'm sure Weiss counts as a negative friend" Ruby continued

"Don't be silly sis, you can't have negative friends" Yang disagreed "You just made two friends and one enemy"

She got another pillow thrown at her face

"Look it's only been one day, trust me you have friends all around you" Yang encouraged "you just haven't met them yet"

Siegfried had already fallen asleep leaving the two sisters the only ones awake, except for a certain ravenette who had found a cosy little corner with a lit candle so she can read in peace, unfortunately that peace would be interrupted for a few minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

Siegfried awoke early in the morning his personal body clock had been set in such a manner to maintain alertness and mobility as his personal crusade against the White Fang has left him constantly on the move wiping out simple patrols all the way through to utter destruction of an outpost , scanning the hall he detected no imminent threats only the sight of a multitude of sleeping bodies filled the hall, the occasional loud snore resounded throughout the silent hall which was promptly replied with murmurs and groans of discontent from the slowly stirring

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Siegfried began dressing himself putting on the same tunic and undershirt from the night before taking himself and his belongings, along the maze of sleeping initiates towards the mess hall for a hearty breakfast goodness knows he'll need it.

" _Sleep well my child?" The Bright One teased_

"Yes, mother" Siegfried muttered in reply carefully adding extra emphasis on 'mother'

Siegfried sighed as he set himself down at one of the tables, setting up a barrier to halt the annoying orb's motherly comments as he dug into breakfast consisting of a simple stack of pancakes drizzled in syrup with a small square of butter, a cup of steaming black tea sat next to his plate.

A nearby holo-screen came to life with the morning news playing, Siegfried dismissed usual topics of daily traffic, current dust market shares, celebrity mishaps, crime coverage with lidded eyes taking a particularly large gulp of tea as the program continued, that is until the 'breaking news' segment arrived with White Fang operations causing severe property damage to targeted facilities with Dust stores in particular.

Siegfried mused over that particular report with interest, sure Dust was the lifeblood of all the kingdoms of Remnant but why do the White Fang need so much of it? And if so where is it all going? Feeding himself another fork of fluffy sweetness as he muddled the questions in his head.

As he finished his second last pancake let out sigh of satisfaction relishing the sweetness of the syrup before taking a sip of tea the strong bitter punch of the blend reigniting his senses, as he set his mug however his breakfast was abruptly ended by his lack of breakfast itself, his plate had been stolen.

"What in blazes?" He muttered in surprise checking under the table and around the other tables, not a thing in sight.

However a drop of syrup landed in his hair, checking the substance that landed in his bed-ridden hair feeling the sticky mess between his fingers he looked towards the source. Clinging to the rafters above was an orange haired girl her face fixed into a mixture of crazed, desperate nervousness as her eyes locked onto her teeth which clinging desperately onto the fluffy goodness which was Siegfried's missing pancake.

" _What is it?"_ The Bright One asked

"Thief stole my pancakes that's what!" He fumed "Oi, Lass in the rafters!"

The girl's eyes widened in surprise and yelped, her focus lost on retaining her position she plummeted to the ground with a thump and an upward draft of dust.

"That's Nora for you" an unknown voice spoke, Siegfried turned to the source only to become face to face with another guy around his age black hair with a single strip of pink running down the side of his hair his eyes containing the same bright magenta he wore a forest green eastern shirt with long sleeves and simple cream pants, he yelped in surprise stumbling back a couple steps before composing himself.

"My apologies for startling you, and I apologise on Nora's behalf for disturbing your breakfast" the boy continued

"No problem friend, it'd be wasteful to get so worked up over breakfast" Siegfried replied

"You're an early bird too eh?"

"Indeed, especially when you've lived with someone as 'unique' as Nora" the fellow replied "Apologies I did not introduce myself, my name is Lie Ren"

"Siegfried" the Wraith smiled offering his hand for a handshake

"No surname?"

"Born and raised beyond the kingdoms, surnames aren't a thing" he replied

"HELLO, my name's Nora!" the orange-haired breakfast thief yelled as she pulled herself from the floor

"Good morning to you too lass" Siegfried greeted

"He said ass!" Nora giggled before letting out a loud pig-like snort

"I think he meant 'lass' Nora" Ren corrected

"Ooooooh is he like a Viking? Ooh! Maybe a dwarf? Nah he's too tall" the bubbly girl babbled "Maybe throw on a cool horned helmet? Ooh! Shave his hair grow out a beard and he'd look like that guy from the TV show!"

"Is the girl always like this?" The Gravewalker asked turning his attention towards Ren

"Unfortunately, yes" he answered

"She has to burn out at some point, right?"

"Not this one"

"Perhaps you are merely exaggerating?"

"Not one bit"

"Are you su-"

"Trust me" Ren cut-in "This is one rabbit hole you **Do Not** want to step into"

"I…see…" Siegfried shuddered in resignation

And on that note the doors leading from the Main Hall to the Cafeteria burst open a flood of students poured into the hall, some first years making a beeline for the seats marking their territory amongst the tables, whilst others went to fetch their own breakfast only to come out from the line bewildered as to where to sit.

"Well, I guess I better leave" Siegfried muttered separating himself from his new acquaintances "They're gonna need the seats more than I, see you around Ren and Nora"

Ren merely nodded lifting a mug of his own morning brew to his lips, whilst Nora waved in response a stack of pancakes climbing towards the ceiling sat beside her, to which Siegfried raised an eyebrow before chuckling to himself and shaking his head.

" _They're nice aren't they not?" The Bright One commented_

"Perhaps" The Grave Walker hummed strolling towards the locker rooms to where his equipment lay

Eventually finding his allocated locker he dialled in his code, followed by a satisfying click he opened the door before examining his inventory:

Longsword

Check

Dust Vials

Check

Bandoliers

Baton

Check

The Baton itself served two functions, when slotted with a dust vial it forms arrows of dust whilst the spectral limbs of the bow formed themselves around the baton as the grip, when slotted into a box strapped to his back at hip level it revealed a deadly secret, a masterfully crafted elven dagger imbued with powerful magic that allowed it to pierce through Aura, to the Gravewalker it would only be used when assassinating White Fang personnel but should the situation arise be used to terminate Aura enhanced enemies with the intent to kill.

Slinging his longsword over his shoulder, slotting the dust vials into the bandolier pouches and finally fitting the baton through a small leather loop on his pants that sat just above his hindquarters, giving himself one final once over before leaving just as the speakers crackled to life.

' _All First Year Students are to report to Beacon Cliff in 20 minutes"_

"Just in time" he smiled his eyes flaring a bright spectral blue

Striding swiftly out of the locker room passing by the only other people in the locker rooms two he recognised as the white haired brat from yesterday and the other: Lady killer puke boy Jayne Arc and finally the third was a tall lass with bright vermillion hair fashioned into ponytail with intelligent green eyes, he overheard them discussing team selection but paid them no mind he made his way back to the Auditorium, students both first and second years occupied the hallways chatting up a storm some he recognised from the night before but only by appearance.

Opening the doors into the Auditorium he was greeted to a few late risers frantically packing their sleeping bags and personal belongings, the percentage that were already up and ready leaned against the walls or sat on the large window sills observing the chaos below amongst the disorder the unmistakable duo of Ruby and Yang could be seen in full kit yet their sleeping kit was still laid out both parties hastily assisting each other in preparing for initiation.

"Yang help me zip up my bag!" Ruby yelled trying to hold a hastily stuffed sleeping mat into a duffel bag

"On it" the blonde nodded abandoning her own gear to support her younger sister, and with a strong jerk of the zipper Ruby's gear was secured

"Can you help me with mine then?" The Brawler asked

"Umm Yang?" Ruby said

"Yes?"

"Your bag _is_ packed"

"What do you mean? I left mine open to help you zip up yours!"

"Yang It _is_ packed" The red reaper replied again

"Of course it's packed I need all that stuff!"

Ruby facepalmed

"Yang, I meant that your bags are already good to go" The statement left our Blonde brawler's inner gears halt for a good two seconds before clicking back into place.

"Wait what?!" She half shouted swiftly turning her head to see her bumble bee themed suitcases all neatly zipped up

"See told you!" Ruby teased sticking her tongue out at her

"To be fair Ruby your phrasing could 'ave been a bit more precise" said the voice of the Gravewalker

Ruby squeaked in surprise spinning on her heel to face her friend, a smug grin painted on the young man's face.

"I take it you're not morning people?" He asked pleasantly

"N-no not really" she replied

"Not one bit" the elder agreed

"Better get some food in you soon, took about five minutes for you to finish packing and initiation starts in roughly 15 minutes from now"

Both their eyes widened to comical sizes before they rushed out in a blur of red, yellow and black as well as rose petals strangely enough, it was at that moment that Siegfried immediately pitied the poor janitor. In mere moments later the two had returned their faces drained and limbs shaky, tears threatened to stream from young Ruby's eyes.

'Well 'at was fast' Siegfried thought

" _Indeed" The Bright One agreed_

"Well, what is it?" Siegfried inquired

"There's…." Ruby gulped "No…more…."

"Food!" Yang butted in venomously "The cafeterias all out of everything!" her eyes flared bright red a slight haze surrounding her form, others in the Auditorium backed away quickly from her vicinity.

Siegfried winced "Oof, that's harsh"

"And what's even better is that the ladies refused to serve us any more food until lunchtime!" She growled "And I'm STARVING!"

Siegfried did the math in his head: Rushed morning x (no breakfast + not a morning person) = whatever this irrelevant algebra question equalled to something not good.

Looking at Ruby however was a different story she seemed on the verge of tears, clutching her stomach desperately, despite the chatter that replaced the ruffling of sleeping bags and the like one could here an audible rumbling that did not dare to stop. Thinking quickly he opened his satchel before handing them a small parcel of leaves held together by a twine string.

"Here it's not much, but it should be able to keep you filled for now" he said handing it to Ruby

She hastily unwrapped the parcel throwing away the twine and throwing away offending leaves, she took a bite at whatever was within, she had no regrets. At first it tasted like nothing before a mellow sweetness like butter and sugar began to settle on her tongue a tangy aftertaste came afterward, coupled with the crumbly almost shortbread like texture nearly made her melt on the spot, And yet somehow she felt full from a single bite. The meal itself resembled a simple flatbread a light caramel brown, but the colour of cream within.

Little did Ruby know she had suffered her first existential crisis: Could this mystery bread be the only rival and possible successor to the Legendary chocolate chip cookie?

"Hey Ruby, come on give me some I'm hungry too!" Yang chided

"O-oh right sorry sis" she replied nervously her ears turned pink in embarrassment, holding out the mystery meal to her sister

Let's just say, both sisters were satisfied and leave it at that.

At the Beacon cliffs, Ozpin and Ms. S&M from the interrogation room stood at the fore as the rest of us arranged ourselves in rows, poor Rubes stood a few rows back and therefore couldn't see much seeing as though everyone was at least a foot or two taller than her, the poor girl was jumping on the spot only to see the top of the Headmaster's head and not much else.

"You will all be required to devise your own 'landing strategies' as you enter the forest" The man in question said "From there you will find your own way and retrieve artefacts found within the ruins deep in the forest, return here once you have retrieved one and you will pass, of course you will not complete this assignment alone"

Everyone turned to each other in confusion

"Your partner will be the first person you make eye contact with when you land" He continued

Nods of affirmation rang throughout the cohort, except one particular blonde knight

"Any questions before we begin?" Ozpin asked his eyes scanning the crowd, the limb of the knight could be seen flailing desperately, but by some miracle our headmaster did not notice.

"Very well take your positions" he affirmed "And good luck to all of you"

Immediately the first row of students were flung skyward by hidden platforms in the ground, it was amusing watching the mass of flailing limbs descend into the tree-line. Only for the next row to disappear just as quickly.

Siegfried gulped audibly.


	4. Chapter 4

The Bright one laughed melodiously as Siegfried was sent careening through the air, no control over his limbs as he performed numerous cartwheels and a plethora of other noteworthy tricks to anyone who could actually see what he was doing.

Steadying himself he assumed a skydiving fall position tucking himself into a dive as he held his breath, his body began to lose colour leaving a spectral image of himself as he neared the ground, flipping himself over he landed on the ground with a soft whump sending dirt and leaves into the air only for them to drift lazily down to earth again.

Dusting himself off he surveyed his surroundings, on the mortal plane all was quiet but in the realm of Wraiths it was abuzz with activity, his eyes glowed blue once more and his sight entered a new spectrum colours of all kinds entered his line of sight, not too far away Grimm had begun to stir, their docile black forms within Siegfried's vision began to transition to a volatile combination of white and red loud, he could detect voices turning his gaze into their general direction he identified the source as Lie Ren and his accomplice Nora Valkyrie weapons at the ready and speeding ahead of him.

Drawing his sword instinctively he continued his search his eyes constantly switching between wraith and mortal vision to keep track of any Grimm that dare approach upon his route, picking up the pace he pulled into a full sprint utilising any large roots or rocks as boosts to his momentum after what felt like at least a half minute of running he had stopped at a clearing, scattered branches and leaves lay on the dirt of the clearing as well as a patch of flattened grass a few meters away furrows of dirt and two sets of footprints could be seen as well leading away from the clearing.

"Hmm, someone fell here used the branches to break their fall" He mused to himself "Fought a Grimm here and killed it with someone else , already fully decayed probably long gone by now"

Deciding to take things a bit slower he walked through the forest, lest he exhaust himself before any real fighting began. Using his wraith vision he noticed two shapes both human and most likely female given their shape, merely a few paces distance between them foliage the only barrier between them.

"Hello?" A voice called "Is someone there?"

"Aye" Siegfried replied "Over here!"

With the singing swish of a blade the shrubbery obstructing contact with the two parties ceased to be.

"Huh fancy seeing you here" Yang smirked arms folded

"You two know each other?" a raven haired girl asked, Siegfried took note of her eyes startling yellow like a domestic feline, a bow sat snugly upon her head too adding to his suspicion.

"Well not really, my little sister met him in that Dust shop that got raided two days ago" the Blonde explained "He makes some mean flatbread too"

The ravenette's brow quirked at that final comment

"So I guess you want to tag along?" Yang asked "No one else seems to be nearby, Oh by the way this is Blake"

To which the black-haired girl waved slightly

The Wraith nodded "As much as I love fighting alone, fighting Grimm is better done in numbers"

Blake inclined her head in agreement as well "We better get moving, just being here is probably attracting Grimm with every second"

Turning towards the set of footprints that lead out of the clearing they all broke into a jog following the trail, weapons ready. The trees eventually gave way to a set of colossal ruins, toppled pillars and brickwork lay strewn across the relatively flat ground, in the middle of it all lay an oversized chess board with several pieces already missing.

A loud roar startle the trio as Weiss Schnee came into view fighting off an Ursa, she pirouetted away from a lazy swipe punishing it with a swift series of jabs using a glyph she launched herself backward to a safe distance a determined expression on her visage.

"Should we help her?" Yang asked

"She seems fine" Blake stated

Until three beowolves stalked out from the bushed to Weiss' left they snarled at her, forcing the heiress to back up towards the ruins her bravado had faltered slightly.

"Never mind" Siegfried huffed "looks like she does need help after all, as obnoxious as she was yesterday, death is too harsh a punishment for childish arrogance"

Sprinting towards a torn down ruin wall, he scaled it with ease, drawing his baton he focused his mind the spectral limbs formed along the lengths of the intricate baton, drawing an imaginary arrow he took aim swiftly and let loose a ghostly arrow.

Weiss back-stepped a swipe by one of the Beowolves before unleashing a deadly jab at its throat, sinking easily into its black flesh with a satisfying 'shink' she could not deliver a killing blow as a second Beowulf attempted to crush her with both arms, withdrawing Myrtenaster quickly she formed a glyph to propel her out of the way of the overhead smash, turning to face her attacker she was surprised to see it stagger backward as it clutched its eye a chilling blue arrow shaft poking between its claws.

She turned to the source of the projectile, her saviour much to her chagrin was the brutish rogue with the funny accent from yesterday. He stood hunched his bow already prepped for another shot, he matched her gaze swiftly.

"Keep your eye on the Grimm lass" He warned "Thanks can come later"

She fumed internally but was interrupted and turned just in time to dodge the large paw of the Ursa she was fighting before back flipping elegantly away, her eyes locked and on the Ursa's neck and belly, only to see the blonde haired sister of the dunce, from yesterday as well lunge at the Ursa and deliver a mighty uppercut on the beast's jaw, staggering it. Weiss unleashed another glyph propelling her swiftly across the ruins before spearing the Ursa's exposed, neck killing it.

Siegfried drew three arrows firing them in a fan formation, all three striking the first Beowulf in the chest halting its attempt at a charge, he drew another arrow quickly this one's tip burned with white-blue flame and let it loose and struck true, it fell into its knees dead.

Blake charged towards the second Beowulf, it roared and sprung forward claws ready to rend her flesh, she spun out of the way unleashing a volley of gunfire from her machine pistol, it covered its eyes to avoid the bullets from entering its eyes but inadvertently disrupted the lunge leaving it sprawled on the ground.

summoning a clone she charged straight at it the clone unleashing phantom cover fire whilst the real Blake leapt into the air the Beowulf roared defiantly as it stood swiping at her hastily, anticipating this she switched out with her clone leaving it to dissipate against the wolves' claws.

Drawing her blade she dashed between its legs swiping at both of them forcing the Beowulf onto its knees leaping onto the creature's back driving the slender blade through its spine ending it swiftly.

Only one Beowulf remained it stood a few meters away, growling in warning it reared onto its hind legs, its claws low ready to fight regardless of the result. That is until a massive hammer head lopped off its head sending it careening away over the tree line, its body slumping to the ground and decaying into black particles and mist.

Bull-roarer Took would be proud

-Over to the culprits-

'Fore!' Nora shouted

Ren staggered out of the bushed behind her, panting and groaning he waited for a few moments to regain his composure before he spoke

"We're not riding an Ursa ever again Nora" Ren said

"Aww but it was fun!" Norah whined "At least until it broke…."

"Looks like Siegfried is over there as well" Ren observed "It would be smart of us to join them"

"Well let's go then!" his friend yelled already jogging towards the gathered huntsman

Ren sighed before following suit

-Back to our daring trio-

"Well, that happened" Yang quipped

Siegfried nodded heeding Ren's advice to not question it too much

"Yeah" Blake blinked in surprise

They turned towards the Ice queen who was already marching towards them

"I suppose I have to thank you for assistance?" She huffed

"Aye, that would be most appreciated" The Wraith nodded

"Were you alone this whole time?" Yang butted in quickly

"No" The heiress replied "Your dunce sister was with me, she sped off and I couldn't catch up with her"

"So that's how you came across the Grimm then?" Blake inquired

Weiss nodded

"But where is she now?" Yang wondered aloud

"How would I know?!" Weiss cried out in a shrill voice as she threw her arms out

" _She's falling right onto you"_ The Bright One whispered

If one could just filter out their conversation, you could hear a faint screaming from the above getting louder and louder.

'aaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAH' screamed a voice from above

'Does anybody else here that?' Siegfried asked to no one in particular

"Here what?" Blake asked quizzically, the others too raised their brows in confusion

"The screaming"

"What screami-" Weiss began, interrupted by a flash of red and black that slammed into the ground at her feet, the crimson reaper lay spread eagled dazed from the fall

'Ow'

"Oh hey Ruby!" Yang chirped "I've been looking for you"

" _That was quite a fall" The Bright One noted "Hopefully her Aura didn't suffer too badly"_

"Ye 'right there Ruby?" Siegfried asked snapping his fingers in front of her face, hoping to gain a reaction

'Yeah, I'm fine' Ruby slurred her eyes spinning comically within their sockets

Their greetings were interrupted, by the caw of a crow. They all knew that no ordinary crow could make a sound as loud as it did, the mood took a complete 180 degree turn. Jovial grins were replaced with determined scowls, the ambient clicking of weapons arming and humming to life.

"Nevermore" Siegfried breathed taking up a defensive stance, eyes scanning the surrounding tree line, for even the faintest flicker of black. He could not use his wraith powers now, flashing his eyes briefly he caught glimpses of the colour coded Grimm, they were only Beowolves and Ursas. A slowly decaying King Taijutu from where Nora and Ren emerged from the bushes, he also saw within his brief glance of the Wraith world, but no Nevermore.

A second caw, louder and more aggressive than the first one resounded once more, the trees began to shift uneasily and the echo, grips tightened further around their weapons, and their hardened faces tensed further.

Out of the clouds descended the Nevermore, cawing one more time to announce its presence it pulled into a swoop, its wings gleamed dangerously as it charged swiftly towards the small party. The group all rolled away from the large avian form, twisting its body as it ascended to a generous height it unleashed a storm of sharpened feathers, Siegfried jumped backwards to avoid the deadly projectile, others rolled and dived from them.

"It's too high, how are we going to take it down?" Weiss shouted

"Shoot it down then!" Yang roared returning fire with her shotguns gauntlets.

"We don't have the firepower to take it down efficiently" Blake reasoned "You're wasting ammo"

"She's right" Siegfried agreed "None of us here can shoot it down except Ruby"

"What we need to do is lure it down, so I can take it out" Ruby finished off

"Exactly"

"But how do we do that?" Weiss asked again

"Oh Oh!" Nora raised her hand "I can shoot my 'nades so make it fly lower"

"Good Idea" Blake nodded in approval

"Looks like we're set, Nora force the Nevermore to fly lower while you're doing that I will find a good vantage point to make the shot, everyone else distract it, so it doesn't focus on either of us"

All nodded their heads in approval, now it was time for execution. Evading another barrage of feathers, they readied their ranged weapons.

'Now!'

Nora instantly began firing a volley of grenades, detonating just at the right height startling the creature forcing it to abide by their plan descending slightly with each volley, allowing for some of the other student's projectiles to strike it. Meanwhile Ruby had begun to scale the large cliff, utilising her semblance and boosts from Crescent Rose's recoil to reach a small stable outcrop that could bare her. Setting up the scythe into its full long ranged form, she gazed into the scope, quickly gaging its location, following the Nevermore's flight pattern she aimed for its head, however with each barrage of sharpened feathers its head would either be obstructed by its wings, or the bobbing of its narrow head as it maintained its height while stationary.

Unleashing a loud shriek it dived towards them, its narrow beak a spearhead, ready to pierce its next victim. Siegfried broke into a run away from the creature but refused to move sideways away from the large avian's path, the Nevermore locked onto him its body folding into a black missile.

Just as the creature was about to make impact, the Gravewalker made a calculated sidestep, using the momentum from the run he spun before springing himself upward his fingers finding purchase on the Nevermore's feathers around its neck and gripped firmly, as the Grimm pulled up into the sky, high in the air the Nevermore thrashed to and fro, frantically attempting to dislodge the unwanted passenger that clung to its neck.

Drawing Bright Vengeance he stabbed it deep into the bird's shoulder, its wings began to beat unevenly from the crippling injury, Siegfried yelped from the jerking movements of the Nevermore, taking larger handfuls of the Nevermore's sleek feathers as the Nevermore squawked in pain, drawing in his determination he dropped from the neck and onto its back, drawing his elven knife he took it into a reverse grip and plunged it into the flesh of the beast, sinking the ornate blade through to the hilt, twisting the blade viciously the Nevermore threw back its head and shrieked into the open sky.

The loud crack of a gunshot silenced its death rattle, the hateful flow in its eyes dimmed, the frantic beating of its wings ceased the avian to plunge from the sky, as like all other Grimm black particles flew into the open air as the process of decay began, Siegfried pulled into a skydiving position, trying to slow his fall. Noticing this Ruby fired off her platform, again using the recoil as a boost turning her into a speeding blur of red and black tackling into him sending the two rolling across the flat ground stopping with a soft thump, the loud boom of the slain Grimm's cadaver made contact with the ground kicking up a large cloud of dust in its wake.

Ruby and Siegfried sat up groaning from the rough landing, the two clutching their heads attempting to still their spinning heads. Meanwhile the rest that stayed on ground level made way to their downed comrades, helping them to their feet, while Ren separated to collect Siegfried's Bright Vengeance.

"Thanks for the save Ruby" he grunted

"No problem" Ruby replied cheerfully

"I have to admit that was quite the spectacle" Ren commented as he handed the longsword back to its owner "as vague a plan as it was, we still pulled it off, nice work Ruby"

She chuckled in embarrassment "Pshaw, I couldn't have done it without you guys to help out"

"Aww come on sis!" Yang whined "stop being so modest soak in the glory, that plan was great!"

Blake nodded in agreement "That was a good shot, considering the many factors playing against you"

"Yeah" Ruby chirped "Even I didn't think the shot would make it"

Nora however was over by the Nevermore corpse planting Magnhild into the fallen beast's body like a flag before striking a noble pose, taking multiple pictures with her scroll with her free hand.

Siegfried chuckled and shook his head when he saw her

" _Youth Culture is indeed a weird concept" The Bright One noted jokingly "Perhaps you should participate, widen your range of local customs and such"_

' _That is out of the question' Siegfried hissed sharply_

 _The Bright One chuckled softly_

The rest of the group began to shower the young reaper and Wraith with praise, all except Weiss who watched from afar, watching with disbelief and the barest hint of jealousy.

With that done, once the group had fully recuperated they set off together, coming across Jaune and Pyrrha along the way, they made for some interesting conversation regarding their journey to get the relics and back, fighting off a Deathstalker when Jaune accidently mistook it for the possible artefacts they were meant to be looking for, they all laughed uproariously much to the knight's embarrassment.

Scaling the cliffs a menial task at best for super powered teens, the group made it back in time receiving a personal congratulations from the headmaster and Mistress Goodwitch, they then directed them back to the school campus where they noticed other students had already finished the task judging from the sounds of chatter echoing out the door.

They were directed to the backstage of the amphitheatre by screens that hung off the walls, complying with them they sorted themselves into a line, Glynda Goodwitch approached from the other side of the stage scroll in hand and a passive expression on her face.

She instantly began explaining the process of the ceremony, the students would be placed in groups of four, a call sign name would be designated to them just like all other Huntsman teams and then be told to move off towards their designated rooms, which the Headmaster will give them the key to. Jaune asked about personal belongings, in which she replied they have already been moved to their dorms beforehand so that matter was settled.

After a seemingly endless number of teams being established, healthy rounds of applause by the upperclassmen it was time for them to be sorted. Poor Ruby was quivering like a leaf, pouring over the multitudes of possible team compositions and was positively terrified of the prospect of not being with her sister for the next 3-4 years it took words of encouragement from Yang for a few minutes for her to calm and it was smooth sailing from there.

Team JNPR was established much to our surprise, considering we had no interaction with them until the return trip back to the cliffs. Weiss audibly sighed in relief free of the young knight's romantic pursuits of her, Yang covered her mouth in amusement snickering softly at her reaction. Blake however had distracted herself with her book (as to where she keeps it I have no clue) and Ruby was already beaming in anticipation, considering there was no one else on stage it seemed that the five of them would be a team, and Siegfried the poor sod the only male in that said team.

Beyond the murmurings of the other students, Siegfried sighed internally at the outcome much to the delight of the maternal Bright One.

The girls quickly left the stage, making a beeline straight for their room. Siegfried strolled behind him attempting to calm the storm within his mind, Siegfried's personal goals returned to the fore, he smiled fondly at the words that his father had once said to him.

His reminiscing was interrupted by a surging headache, a cacophony of voices tumbled and rushed through his mind like a raging tsunami. He knew what this meant, but it didn't help knowing that it still damn hurt.

' _Our worms have unearthed new information Siegfried' The Bright One whispered suddenly 'Would you like to hear their murmurings?'_

' _Yes' he replied gravely_

The chatter dwindles into whispers, amongst the cloud of murmurs within his mind clear phrases vocalised their messages to him, filtering through the new knowledge he had learnt something new from his worms, a planned attack on an Atlas shipment of Paladins, the location is unclear however but the date is expected to be around the time of the Vytal tournament, given his heritage as part of a travelling caravan he was unfamiliar to this event, he would need to plant more worms into the White Fang but that in itself is a challenge, branding a captain would be most fortuitous, but he knew his strength and his limitations, he is still not ready to catch the bigger fish.

' _I understand your urgency my child' The Bright one soothed 'but learning here will make us stronger in future than by hasty insurgency'_

' _Aye…I understand' The Gravewalker muttered dejectedly_

His mood heightened quickly knowing that he had accomplished what his father would have wanted, anticipating the thought of advancing his skills to greater degree, his eyes flared that same ghostly blue a genuine smile crossed his lips.

' _I believe this is our room' The Bright One noted_

He retreated a few steps, turning to face the door that he nearly walked past, knowing that his future teammates would've already entered, he moved to knock on the door.

The door swung open before his knuckles could make contact, bidding him entry.


End file.
